Day: April 20, 2016

Gamo farmers in southern Ethiopia preparing the harvest of grains. Photo by John W. Arthur. Dr. John W. Arthur Associate Professor of Anthropology University of South Florida St. Petersburg “Thirst rather than hunger may have been the stimulus behind the origin of small grain agriculture.” —Jonathan Sauer, 1953 “Man cannot live on beer alone. …[…]

Christopher Hitchens / Creative Commons By Matthew A. McIntosh / 04.20.2016 From Darwin to Gramsci to Sagan, theists have a long history of waiting until a notable and outspoken atheist has shuffled loose the mortal coil to return to the Earth to claim, lo and behold, “She/He converted prior to death! Hallelujuah, praise God!” They[…]

Photo by Annette Bernhardt, Flickr Creative Commons. By Tristan Husby / 04.18.2016 A friend of mine who is an organizer and nonviolent trainer has a favorite exercise called “10-10,” which she uses when introducing nonviolence to new activists. She divides the students into groups and tells them to write down, as quickly as possible, 10[…]

Former British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes. The Spectator By Nigel Hamilton History and Biography Senior Fellow University of Massachusetts Boston Several years ago, Oxford professor and Shakespeare scholar Jonathan Bate decided to write a biography of the British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes. Initially it seemed he had the support of Hughes’ widow, Carol Hughes –[…]

Dr. Steven L. Tuck, Miami University / Great Courses By Mary Harrsch Roman Times Recently, I watched a fascinating lecture by Professor Steven Tuck of Miami University on the interpretation of imagery found in the House of the Tragic Poet in Pompeii in his course “Pompeii: Daily Life in an Ancient Roman City“, recorded for[…]

Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. acknowledges his supporters on arrival at a campaign rally, Tuesday, March 8, 2016, in Miami. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz) By Matthew A. McIntosh / 04.20.2016 3.2 million: The number of Independent voters in New York who could not vote in the closed primaries. 27%: The percentage of registered voters[…]

By Jameson Parker / 04.20.2016 Big news out of the Treasury Department: After much debate, Alexander Hamilton will remain on the $10 bill – and instead, it’s Andrew Jackson who is being given the boot. According to Politico , Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is set to announce two major changes to the twenty, neither of[…]

By Charlene E. Maklay Professor of Anthropology Reed University He could be sleeping. Or meditating as he waits in the car for the driver to return. His body sits upright against the seat back, shirtless and in sporty shorts, his hands loosely in his lap, his knees casually splayed. But as the camera silently moves[…]

Bleaching occurs when overly warm ocean waters cause coral to expel the algae living inside of it, which turns the coral white and erodes its structures. (Photo: XL Catlin Seaview Survey) By Nadia Prupis / 04.20.2016 More than 90 percent of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is suffering some level of coral bleaching and will[…]

From Drew Moody at CornerOfTheCafe.com: There’s an agreement among coffee professionals that putting cream and sugar in black coffee is frowned upon. This common value is so well-known outside of the coffee industry that it’s become a point of mockery to our clientele. The running joke to those on the other side of the bar,[…]